


Patchwork

by Aelwyn



Series: Vignettes of Rose and the Doctor [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor/Companion Friendship, F/M, Fluff and Humor, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 01:22:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20417546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aelwyn/pseuds/Aelwyn
Summary: While working on the TARDIS, the Sixth Doctor receives an... unexpected guest. Stuck for a week in a past Doctor's TARDIS, Rose resolves to learn all she can about this new aspect of the man she's so fond of. And- Hey, where's Peri?





	Patchwork

**Author's Note:**

> I am not repentant for my Phineas and Ferb reference in the summary in the slightest.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS GO TO DOCTOR WHO, THE BBC, AND ANY OTHER AFFILIATES. I MAKE NO PROFIT FROM THIS AS YOU WELL KNOW, BUT TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE I'D RATHER NOT BE SUED.

“Doctor, can I let go of this doohickey now?” Peri asked tiredly, leaning against the console and yawning. She’d been keeping her grip on the odd-looking lever for the past hour and was no closer to understanding what it was even for. The Doctor looked up from a mess of papers and rolled his eyes.

“No, Peri,” he chided, turning back to the schematics of a terribly complex TARDIS circuit he was repairing and frowning as he ruffled thick blond curls. “None of this makes sense.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” an unfamiliar female voice said out of nowhere. The Doctor’s head whipped up, startled, to take in the equally confused and surprised blonde Londoner currently standing in the exact same place that Peri had been doing the exact same thing he’d asked her to do. 

“Who are you!?” The Doctor asked, incredulous as he shot to his feet.

“I could ask you the same thing,” the girl asked - and didn’t let go of the lever. Curious that. It deflated his irritation somewhat that his project hadn’t been derailed entirely. 

“I’m the Doctor,” he said exasperatedly. 

“Pull the other one, why don’t you,” she scoffed. 

“I am!”

“Am not.”

“Am too!” He retorted petulantly, aware he sounded like a child and not caring in the least. She was the one one started it, after all. “I’m the Doctor, I’m a Time Lord from Gallifrey. In the constellation of Kasterborous. This is my ship, the TARDIS.” 

“Anybody could find that stuff out if they really tried,” the girl argued. 

“Well, that’s not my fault now is it?”

“Prove it. Tell me something only the Doctor would know.” 

“Why are you so stubbornly determined I’m not him, Hmm?” The Doctor asked, suddenly having an epiphany. It wasn’t often he met people out of order, but...

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, I just want proof,” the mysterious stranger reiterated, looking annoyed. His animosity faded to be replaced by respect.

“Are you- you’re _protecting him_, aren’t you?” He asked, eyebrows shooting into his hairline.

“So what if I am?” She evaded stubbornly. 

“No, it’s not- I- it’s nice, that you care,” he stumbled to explain, feeling strangely flattered. “I don’t really have... most people assume that I don’t need anyone to...” the girl’s expression softened and she sighed as he trailed off. 

“You’re the Doctor all right,” she muttered. “Not sure how when you look completely different and sound different, but...”

“So, you don’t know about Regeneration, but you still believe me?” He asked, thrown for a loop. “Why?” The girl cocked her head to the side, blonde hair falling off of her shoulder in a cascade. 

“Dunno, just... it’s your eyes I think,” she murmured, brow furrowing as whiskey gold-brown orbs observed him. Despite himself, he blinked. “They’re the wrong shade of blue, but... still you. Somehow. Hang on. What’s Regeneration?” 

“Oh, have I got things to explain to you...” The Doctor muttered. “Just- just, let me get some things sorted out and I’ll explain in detail. Uh... why. Why are you... still holding that lever?”

She blinked.

“Because the other you told me to.” 

“...Ah. I think I know what happened now.” 

…|^|…

After getting the project to a point where Rose - as he finally found out her name was, Rose Tyler - could let go of the lever, they retreated to the library after a short stop in the galley for some tea. Rose had also found a pint of mint chip ice cream (half-finished mind and thus obviously hers, the TARDIS really liked her for some reason), and she sat patiently across from him in an armchair with her knees drawn against her chest hanging on his every word. 

The first thing he’d done was explain what Regeneration was. The second thing was to explain that she was in his future and that he hadn’t met her yet, cautioning against creating paradoxes. The third was to explain how she had ended up in his TARDIS and where his companion Peri had gone.

“So, basically,” Rose said when he was finished, “if you die you turn into someone else, say nothing about your future, and you and your future self were working on the same repair and Peri was doing the same thing I was so we swapped places?”

“Precisely, that _is _the simplified version,” he affirmed. He was quite proud of himself for explaining it all so well, but that paled in comparison to how well she was taking everything. Most people would have been out the door when he began explaining Regeneration, let alone anything else. 

“So... what does that mean for me and for Peri? You and your future self are gonna have to meet up and do a companion exchange, yeah, or will this all work itself out once the TARDIS gets used to the fixed circuit?” 

“I’m not entirely sure,” the Doctor murmured thoughtfully. “It will take the circuit about a week to acclimatize to the ship and become fully integrated, so if you’re still here at the end of that week I and my future self will have to think of something. Is that all right?”

“Sure, don’t see why not,” Rose replied unconcernedly with a shrug. “‘S not like you and future you aren’t the same person, ya just look and sound different.” 

“You’re forgetting the change in personality,” he reminded, blinking at this nonchalant acceptance of something most people didn’t grasp all too well even when it happened right in front of them (Exhibit A: Peri). 

“That explains the wardrobe differences.”

“Oh go on then, mock my dress sense,” the Doctor sighed. “Everyone does when they see this version of me.”

“I think that’s just all versions of you, future you gets comments all the time despite not looking all too different from accepted style,” Rose said sympathetically. “And I wasn’t going to make fun of your outfit. I wanted to know if you ever took the time to count the colors and patterns up, because there’s so many.”

“Eh... No, I uh, I haven’t...” he stuttered, tugging on an ear and tilting his head slightly to the side. “You really don’t mind my outfit? No comments for improvement or suggestions that I’m a walking disaster?”

“I grew up on a council estate, Doctor,” Rose said quietly. “I got put down so much going through school for what I wore, how I sounded, all of it, and then I went to work in a shop and all the other shop girls would snicker over their customers’ dress sense at break, and I hated all that. So yeah, I have plenty of comments, not an excuse to be rude or vindictive just ‘cause I wouldn’t wear it.” 

“...Oh. Thank you. That- that actually means more to me than if you actually liked it,” he murmured, touched. Rose smirked before flashing him a grin that caught the tip of her tongue in her teeth and he felt something melt at the pure ease with which she conducted herself around him. Peri was still skeptical - he _had _tried to strangle her because his Regeneration went a bit wrong so it was only fair - and had been tiptoeing around him as if she were barefoot on broken glass. 

Rose drained the last of her mug and set it on the end table, where it promptly vanished from sight. She threw a smile at the ceiling and stood.

“Thanks, Dear,” she murmured to the TARDIS, turning back to see the Doctor staring at her with his mouth agape. “What?”

“You... and the TARDIS... and she...”

“She’s brilliant, I know,” Rose finished for him, shaking her hair slightly before pulling it into a messy bun. “So, we’ve got a week. I dare you to show me something impressive.”

The Doctor swallowed, both intrigued by the challenge and somewhat nervous of the way the girl acted around him. 

MEANWHILE...

The Doctor finished up with his calculations and threw a switch, right chuffed with himself for getting it all figured out in record time.

“Rose, you can let go of the switch now.”

“...Doctor? Is that you? Who’s Rose?” 

The Doctor froze as Peri’s somewhat nasal rendition of the American accent hit his ears. He whirled on his heel to see his former companion staring at him with an equally stunned expression and they simply regarded one another for a few moments without saying anything until he finally managed to scrape together two pieces of coherent thought to formulate a sentence.

“What’re you doin’ here?”

“I- I was just standing in the TARDIS holding this lever.”

“Well, what’d you do that for?”

“_BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME TO!_” Peri screamed, frustrated. The Doctor winced at the predicament and then had to sit down as a week’s worth of locked memories flooded his mind.

“Oh...”

…

DAY 1 OF 7

“Well, at least it’s only a drizzle and not a deluge!” The Doctor shouted over the downpour. It was one of the few occasions in which he’d left his multi-colored umbrella in the TARDIS and, in typical fashion, it was on this occasion that it decided to rain. In a desert. For the first time in three thousand years. Absolutely typical. Rose was laughing, spinning around in circles in the damp sand despite his suggestion that she join him under the overhang. 

“I love it!” She giggled, wrapping her arms tightly around her and then tilting her head toward the sky with her tongue sticking out.

“Rose, what are you _doing??_” He asked, immensely confused.

“Trying to catch raindrops on my tongue!”

“...Why!?”

“‘Cause it’s fun!” 

The Doctor sighed, shoulders slumping, even as he shook his head in amusement. She’d challenged him to take her somewhere impressive and he’d meant to do just that, but the TARDIS had had other ideas. So, instead of visiting the jade falls of Risthea they were in an unknown desert and had been kidnapped by bandits almost the moment they’d landed. Most people would have complained about this, but after muttering something about twelve months instead of twelve hours Rose had taken things in stride. She’d chatted amiably and had somehow made friends with their captors despite his botched attempts at civility and that was how they’d found out that it hadn’t rained for three thousand years. 

Something had happened to the atmosphere during a war, as usual, and the best trade in the region now happened to be setting distress beacons on the planet and kidnapping the poor fools stupid enough to answer them to sell them in that space sector’s slave trade. 

How did it begin raining, exactly? The Doctor still wasn’t sure, but after a long and arduous escape from their captors that necessitated knocking a few of them out and then making a break for it he was too tired to much care anymore. In a stunning reversal of events Rose, his human companion, was annoyingly energetic and curious. And yet...

And yet she bounced patiently by his side as they walked back to the TARDIS, chattering about things neither here nor there and speculating about the weather, and he jumped when she laced their fingers together as if it were her privilege and honor to do so. 

DAY 2 OF 7

“Rose, what are you doing?” 

“Laundry.”

“...Why?”

“Because I need shirts?” 

“...How?” 

All he got in response was a shrug, and he spent the rest of the day having words with his ship. She, of course, didn’t deign to answer. 

That evening he entered his private study and did a double take when his newest traveling companion looked up at him and smiled from her reading position in an armchair in front of the fire.

“Hi,” she said. 

“Uh, hello,” he squeaked in response. “How- how did you get here?” 

“Should I- do you not want me in here?” Rose asked self-consciously, closing her book with a worried frown. 

“N-no, I- the TARDIS isn’t supposed to let anyone else in here,” he explained weakly. 

“Oh. I only found this place recently. It was after Jack came on board. I like it, just you and me.” 

“Who’s Jack?” The Doctor asked, taking the other armchair. Rose smiled. 

“He’s an ex-Time Agent from the 51st century,” she explained breezily. “Flirts with anything and everything that moves, me, my mum, the taxi drivers, the guards arresting us...” a sly grin. “You...” 

“Me!?” 

“Like I said, depending on the rock, he’ll flirt with it.” Rose’s smile turned slightly thoughtful. “You don’t much care when he does it ‘cause it’s all show, but you don’t like it when he flirts with me...”

“Mm... just trying to keep your innocence my dear,” the Doctor murmured, feigning nonchalance. The fact that she was allowed into the study, coupled with the way the TARDIS acted toward her and the new knowledge that he didn’t like other people flirting with her, had sparked several concerns and he was sincerely hoping that his future self hadn’t gone and done what he was beginning to suspect his future self had gone and done.

“Uh huh.” Rose looked suddenly downcast. “I guess. But... it’s kinda nice, having _someone _care about me. My mum does, but not... she’s had a bunch of bad relationships after my dad died, and Mickey never stood up for me before despite all his posturing, and Jack is good. He doesn’t mean anything by it, leastways not to me. ‘S just sometimes I wish...” she trailed off, taking a sip of her tea, and didn’t speak further. 

The Doctor opened his mouth to press further before thinking better of it.

DAY 3 OF 7

“Are you... making pancakes?”

“Banana pancakes,” Rose said proudly. “Can you find the syrup? The kitchen isn’t laid out in the same way I’m used to.” 

“Uh... sure.” And, just because he was feeling strangely helpful, the Doctor also got the plates and silverware out. “Do we do this often, you and future me?” 

“Every morning, unless you’re elbow deep in the TARDIS console working on a crucial part,” Rose answered promptly as she flipped a pancake and then stuck it in the oven on a plate to keep warm. “Why?” 

“No reason,” he said quickly, masking his surprise as best as he could. Rose, however, seemed to be able to read him like a book, and just fixed him with a look with one hand on her hip. “I... I don’t often have meals with companions, Rose. Most can’t be bothered and the rest don’t know how to cook, so it’s not exactly enjoyable if I’m doing everything.”

“I didn’t know how to cook either,” Rose admitted. “But I learned.”

“Oh you did, did you?”

“Yeah, I asked you to teach me and ya did.” He blinked, then smiled. 

“Well then, let’s see what you know shall we?”

Rose giggled. She honest to God giggled. He beamed at her and, even if he’d lied to himself about it, he couldn’t deny the reason why the sound melted his hearts. 

...It’d been such a long while since he’d heard anyone laugh just because...

DAY 4 OF 7

They were running, once again, from people trying to kill them. And, for once, it wasn’t his fault. 

It was Rose’s. 

The Doctor wasn’t sure how he felt about having a companion who got into just as much trouble as he did, aside from the fact that they were currently sitting in the highest branches of a large tree and she was hurling insults and the planet’s equivalent of pine cones down on their pursuers. 

He settled for simultaneously confused, impressed, and concerned. 

Of course, when it got dark the people left. The forest was wild and full of nasty, hungry things. On the plus side, no more people. On the minus side, they couldn’t get down from the tree. On the plus side, large, somewhat flat branches. On the minus side, that meant they’d be _spending the night in a tree._

“What exactly did you _do _to make them so angry with you?” The Doctor asked, exasperated yet intrigued. 

“I...” Rose blushed before shooting him a mischievous glance. “May or may not have stolen the crown prince’s knickers.” He gaped at her. 

“...Do I- Do I... want to know how or why?” 

“Well, y’see, it was this bet I had with Jack where he said I wasn’t a real woman ‘cause I wasn’t willing to do anything crazy and my mum said you never took me to nice places, and I figured, kill two birds with one stone because what could be more classy and spontaneous than stealing royal underwear? So I snuck into his room and grabbed some from his _armoire _and, yeah. Here we are.”

“Here we are,” the Doctor murmured weakly, voice going squeakier than it had since he’d last worn cricket jumpers. 

DAY 5 OF 7

If someone were to whack him over the head with an electrified metal pole and proceed to tap dance across his prone form they might just come close to how terrible he was feeling, the Doctor decided. 

It had all started with a harmless discussion about online shopping, of all things, and had devolved from there into a petty argument. His current incarnation was particularly snide and vengeful when under attack and he was stubborn to begin with no matter the body, so he wasn’t exactly willing to back down even though he recognized that it was both his fault and that he was incorrect in his statements. Usually, his companions either weren’t invested enough to keep at it or they just didn’t care enough to, and he won out because he was more inclined to follow his point through to succession.

Not Rose, though. She had a look in her eye that suggested she knew perfectly well he was wrong and at fault despite his blustering, and he was astounded to find that she was every bit as stubborn as he was but that unlike him where he grew cold and calculated when angry she burned white hot with the passionate heat of a thousand suns. 

Quickly realizing that escalating the petty disagreement into a full-blown shouting match had been the exact wrong thing to do, the Doctor said a few choice words pertaining to his future self only keeping her around out of a sense of misplaced guilt at her losing her job and she’d reared back as if he had physically slapped her. He’d instantly regretted the words the moment they were out of his mouth, but the devastated look on her face gutted him. 

Without another word she turned and strode as dignified as possible from the room in quick but measured steps and he watched her go feeling horrible. The part of him that still felt and saw things the way his past incarnation had wanted to smack his current self upside the back of the head, but he settled for slumping against the console and engaging in a round of self-loathing instead. 

“Well done Doctor,” he muttered to himself. “You haven’t even met her yet and already you’ve driven her off. Brilliant, absolutely spectacular.” 

He retreated to his study to mope and feel like a heel. Five hours later, there was a knock on the door. Blinking, he went over to open it only to find that there was no one there. Glancing down he spotted a mug of tea with a note tied to the handle, and he bent to pick it up. 

It read as follows:

_I’m not saying you were right, in fact, just the opposite. But since you’re probably spiraling down a path of abject self-hatred I figured I should tell you..._

_I get it, okay? You and I row all the time, it’s nothing new. Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, in either direction, okay? _

_And, to make things clear. This isn’t an apology because quite frankly I’m not the one at fault here. I just wanted to say I forgive you, but I’m still mad at you, okay?_

The Doctor put down the note and sighed. He really needed to figure out how to do... well, anything that resulted in a positive, healthy, friendly relationship when it came to his companions. Rose seemed willing to help him learn in the future, but maybe... maybe he could start now? 

He was halfway through making her a cup of tea before realizing that she’d maneuvered him into apologizing. He couldn’t even summon the emotional energy to be mad by this turn of events because he was quite frankly impressed by her ability to do it. So, he went on with it and made the beverage before scribbling a small note and then setting it outside of Rose’s bedroom door before knocking and padding away.

_I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t say much, so I’m repaying your forgiveness tea with an apology tea. And you’re not here because you’re a pity case. Quite honestly, as I’m sure you may have noticed from our recent argument, I am not the most agreeable person in this current incarnation. I’m quick to anger and am still trying to find a way to balance that, but it’s difficult and you deserve so much better. If you so choose, you don’t have to see me the remaining two days you’ll be here. I can make myself scarce. _

Rose found him not five minutes later in the media room watching something so tremendously sad that it should have been labeled as a violation of the Geneva Convention (AKA, _Where the Red Fern Grows_). He did little more than raise an eyebrow as she plopped herself down on the couch beside him, but stiffened and let out a tiny squeak of confusion when she immediately lifted his arm and dove underneath it to snuggle solidly against his chest. 

DAY 6 OF 7 

The Doctor awoke early the next relative morning and briefly pondered the source of his peaceful rest before the warm weight on his chest shifted ever so slightly in its sleep and he suddenly had Rose’s hair pressed against his cheek. He quit breathing altogether and just stared at her, stunned. Since when did he cuddle with companions? And, more importantly, since when did he fall asleep on the couch practically spooning one of them? He wasn’t even personally attached, everything he felt for Rose was sort of trickling backward along the timeline, and if it was this... Ah... platonically intimate for _him_... then...

“Future me is in so, so much trouble,” The Doctor sighed.

“Wha?” Rose mumbled, lifting her head and giggling tiredly when their noses collided. “Mornin’.” 

“You uh, you don’t seem overly shocked at the fact that we fell asleep in the media room,” he stammered nervously. Rose rolled her eyes, gently pushing off him with a yawn to brush some hair behind her ears and allowing herself to gradually wake up. 

“Nah. Future you has a lot of trouble sleeping even with the whole-“ use of air quotes was employed- “‘superior physiology’ thing and you seemed to do better when someone was just... in the room, not even have to be on the same couch.” She smiled. “Jack and I take turns in the armchairs in the library. You don’t say anything but I think you appreciate it.”

“Interesting,” The Doctor murmured with a heavy swallow. “What um, what happened to him?” 

“...How do you mean?” She returned nervously.

“Any comment you make about my future self, he just sounds... like he’s sad,” he explained, a tad uncomfortable. “I’m not asking for specifics, I know better than that, but... what happened?”

“There was... Daleks. There was some sort of a war with Daleks and he got caught smack in the middle of it and it was a huge mess, and...” Rose bit her lip and looked away. “And I’m still picking up the pieces months after I met him.”

“Why would you bother?” He asked softly. Rose sighed and slumped back down against his side. He tried to ignore the fact that, since he hadn’t moved when she’d sat up, there was a perfect Rose-shaped spot for her against his chest.

“Because you’re you, and I’m me, and that’s what best mates do for their friends,” she whispered. “Anyway, I think it’s worth it. I wanna do it, and God knows you resent it sometimes but most of the time I think you’re just grateful I’m there even if you don’t show it.” 

The Doctor had plenty of things to say to that, but none of them even came close to expressing his gratitude for this human’s seemingly limitless store of compassion and empathy. So, instead, he simply stared at her. Rose squirmed under his intense gaze before rolling her eyes and getting up. 

“Take me somewhere fantastic, Doctor.”

“As you wish,” he murmured, wondering why that sentence sounded more... tender than he’d intended before chalking it up to the way her admission had left him feeling vulnerable. 

Maybe it was pure dumb luck or the fact that he was begging or the fact that this was for Rose, but the TARDIS did indeed take them somewhere fantastic. It was a place the Doctor had never been before, but it took his breath away. Trees made of crystalline bark with delicate ruby leaves rustled in a sweet-smelling breeze that made the climate cool but not cold and reasonably humidity-free; tiny waterfalls of silver fell over cliffs made of pale lavender and the banks ruffled with feather-soft grass of white ivory. The night sky was deep indigo filled with thousands upon thousands of stars and constellations and Rose smiled before pulling off her shoes and digging her toes into rich blue soil. 

“Feels so good,” she murmured happily. “Sorta damp, sorta crumbly.”

“Humans,” the Doctor sighed good-naturedly. “You and your need to connect with the outdoors...”

“Says the man who once told me that I wasn’t in touch enough with my green thumb,” Rose teased. She cruised to a stop on the crest of a wide open hilltop and tugged on his coat sleeve before laying flat back on the grass. “Come on.” 

Somewhat reluctantly but immensely intrigued, the Doctor did so. Rose clasped their hands together and then used her spare one to point at the sky. 

“Tell me a story?” 

“What do you mean?”

“The stars. Pick one, tell me about it’s solar system? Or pick a constellation and tell me the story behind it?” The Doctor chuckled; this was a new experience for him, but he rather thought he liked the concept. He made himself more comfortable in the grass and relaxed his tense grip in Rose’s hand before looking for an object to snag his interest.

“Right, I’ll give it a go.” He pointed at one of the clusters and began. “That’s Ailuon. It supports four planets, but only two of those have life...”

DAY 7 OF 7

Their last day together, and they were locked in a jail cell. The Doctor was sulking. He’d just- he’d- he’d had _plans_. He never bothered with plans because they always went wrong, but for Rose he’d made an exception. Rose was... special. 

And they were in prison. 

“Doctor...” Rose began from the door. He glanced up from scowling at the corner of the room and noticed that she was looking mischievious. Curiosity piqued, he roused himself from his spot on the floor to join her.

“Hmm?”

“How bright, exactly, would you say these guards are?” She asked. He thought a moment.

“Almost as bright as a torch you’ve forgotten for five years in a cupboard that hasn’t had the batteries changed,” he answered. “Why?” Rose grinned, sticking her tongue between her teeth, before knocking on the door. 

“That’s perfect then. Wait and see.” 

“What?” The guard asked, sticking his head in in response to the knocking. Rose handed him a set of two paper cards and his eyes widened. “Oh, sorry miss. I didn’t realize- if you- if you’ll follow me.”

“Right, And could you escort us to that blue box please?” She requested, batting her eyelashes ever so slightly. “I’d really appreciate it.”

“Of- of course.” Rose nodded before following him out of the cell and then paused to smirk at the Doctor.

“Oi, Time Lord. Coming or not?” He plodded along dumbfoundedly behind her and tried asking several times what she’d done but she remained silent. 

As soon as the doors closed on the TARDIS he whirled around and fixed her with a look.

“All right, spill. What did you do?”

“I handed him these,” Rose said nonchalantly, giving the two cards over and biting her lip to keep from laughing. The Doctor stared at the cards for a few moments before looking back at her, incredulous.

“Get Out of Jail Free _Monopoly _cards? Seriously?”

“He bought it, didn’t he?” Rose giggled. “‘sides, you were the one that said he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer!” She couldn’t help it. The Doctor snorted trying in vain to suppress his laughter before giving up and joining her. 

“Fancy a cuppa?” He asked when the hysterics had died down. Rose was swiping the tears out of her eyes and simply nodded, wheezing. 

The atmosphere turned more melancholic as they retired to the library for the afternoon and the Doctor sighed as Rose nestled against his side.

“Penny for ‘em?” She asked quietly. 

“I just... I’m going to miss you, even though I know I won’t remember you,” he murmured. “You’ve made my life... fun, again. Things haven’t been fun since I regenerated, Peri she- I wasn’t right in the head when it happened, and I thought she was an imposter so I tried to strangle her, and she’s still a little... _tense_, around me. But with good reason I suppose.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about that when she gets back,” Rose soothed. “Think about it. She’s spent a week with your future self, who remembers being you and all the things you wish you did to set things right but couldn’t say, and since she doesn’t travel with him anymore he’ll feel free to say ‘em.” Rose thought for a moment before apparently deciding something. “Like me, seeing as future you won’t remember this, you said so...” 

She leaned forward and kissed the side of his mouth. It was short, chaste, and respectful of his boundaries, but sweet and heartfelt and left absolutely no doubt in the Doctor’s mind as to whether she considered him a platonic friend or hoped for something more.

“And... why, why couldn’t you do that to future me?” He asked, intrigued. Rose blushed so vibrantly she resembled her namesake. 

“Don’t think he feels the same way,” she admitted. “And that’s fine. Some things are worth more than that, like our friendship, but just once...” she trailed off, biting her lip, and smiled. “Never mind. I’ve had a wonderful week with you, by the way.”

“Will you miss me, like I’ll miss you?” The Doctor murmured, suddenly self-conscious. Rose thought for a few moments before shaking her head. His shoulders slumped. “Oh. Well, one can hope I suppose...”

“Not because-“ Rose smiled. “Oh, you daft- not because I won’t miss spending time with you, but because I won’t _have_ to miss you. You’ll be right there.” 

“Not _this _me, though,” he grumbled. Rose rolled her eyes and then gently directed his head to look direct into her gaze with a soft but forceful thumb against his chin. 

“After I’ve got to know you, I see so much of you in him,” she explained. “I won’t miss you because you’ll always be there.” 

For some reason it warmed his hearts considerably to know that he wouldn’t be forgotten, even by himself. Despite having been through five regenerations he still held the fear in each body that his next lives would eventually forget him. 

“Thank you,” he said graciously. Rose arched a quizzical eyebrow.

“For what?”

“For... assaying some deep-seated and habitual fears, I suppose.” 

THE SWAP

The time for Rose to seamlessly swap places with Peri came and went, and when it didn’t happen on its own the Doctor sighed.

“Of course, that would be too simple,” he muttered. The TARDIS chirped smugly and he rolled his eyes before turning to Rose with a nervous hope. “I don’t suppose you’d mind staying a little longer before we-” He was cut off by the sound of another TARDIS landing outside and, as the monitor showed, directly next to his own. “Oh. Well. Bit overzealous, on his part.”

“See it from his point of view,” Rose laughed. “I wasn’t there for a full week.”

“Oh, bit full of yourself aren’t you?” The Doctor laughed, nudging her shoulder. She batted her eyelashes at him and grinned that special grin. 

“Learned from the best, Doctor.”

“Ooh, low blow.”

“Rose? You in there?” A gruff, Northern voice asked through the . The Doctor startled. 

“He sounds like he stumbled out of a shipping dock,” he whispered to his future companion. Rose shrugged. 

“Looks it too,” she whispered back. “But it’s more a show than anything else. All tetchy and prickly but ‘s just an act, kinda like you and your pretending not to care about anyone all that much so they don’t notice how much ya actually do.” 

“You’re a very perceptive young woman,” he commented before there was an impatient yet somehow polite knock on the door. “Oh, I suppose I’d better let him in...” the Doctor crossed over and flicked the switch for the doors, which swung inward and barely gave clearance before the Ninth Doctor swept in in his denims and leather. The two Doctors sized each other up for a few moments before Nine apparently decided to ignore his former self in favor of meeting up with Rose. 

He crossed the old, crisp and clinical console room in quick long strides to stand in front of her, arms twitching ever so slightly at his sides in a way that made it obvious he wanted to hug her but wouldn’t give in to the temptation.

“Hey.”

“Hiya.”

“You all right?”

“Fine. Had a great week. How did things go with Peri?” He flashed a sad but happily nostalgic smile.

“Good. Missed her, y’know? Good to see her again.” 

Peri herself had come in behind him and smiled at the Sixth Doctor before glancing at the reunion and then pointed to the door that led to the rest of the ship. Her meaning was clear: I’ll be in my room. The technicolor Doctor nodded and refocused his attentions on his future self and future companion. Rose had also been watching the future Doctor and rolled her eyes at his tense posture. 

“Well come on then,” she sighed over-dramatically, opening her arms wide. He grinned, entire body relaxing, as he swept her up into the biggest bear hug she’d ever received. “Oof!” He released her and she grinned. “Right, I need to go and grab something I left in the library. Won’t be but a tick.” 

Both Doctors watched her go as she flounced off. 

“I had a long sit-down with Peri and explained some things,” Nine said gruffly, not taking his eyes off the corridor. “Two of you should get on fine now - or as fine as you can I guess.”

“Thank you. Now, might I ask, what are your feelings toward Rose?” 

“I- what?” Nine gaped at his past self, who had fixed him with a raised eyebrow and too-casual crossing of the arms.

“You heard me. It’s not platonic, is it?”

“How- how did you?”

“This past week I’ve had my hand held and been casually flirted with more than I have in my entire life collectively. And we certainly never _cuddled _with companions aside from Susan when she was little. So, go on. I’m curious as to how deep in denial you are that you’re smitten.”

“I’m not _smitten_,” Nine protested while looking anything but truthful. Six smirked. "I'm not!"

"Oh, if you say so. I just want to point out that you haven't managed to convince yourself, though."

"Shut up."

"You need to tell her," Six pressed. Nine rounded on him.

"Why do you care? It's not like y- oh."

"It sort of echoed back down the timeline," Six explained and - for once in his life - sounded sheepish. He glanced at his future self with curiosity rather than judgement. "Let me ask you something. If you love her so much that I can feel it in your past, why haven't you done anything about it?"

"She doesn't feel the same way," Nine said dejectedly. Six just gaped at him, incredulous. "What?"

"Earlier this afternoon she told me she had feelings for you- well, us I suppose- but that you didn't feel the same way," he said slowly. "And then, because I won't remember this, she kissed me."

"She _what!?_" Nine exclaimed, stunned. Six nodded vigorously.

"On the side of the mouth. Quite chaste, mind, but still." His voice softened. "Give her a chance, Doctor. She might surprise you."

Rose came trotting back into the console room at that moment with her book under her arm, smiling. She walked over and pecked the Sixth Doctor on the cheek before grabbing the Ninth Doctor's hand, two actions that Nine tracked with wide eyes.

"Bye Doctor, 's been fun!" Rose called. Six smiled and waved before giving his future self a pointed look.

"Goodbye, Rose. Be careful!"

"Chance'd be a fine thing," Nine scoffed jokingly as he let Rose pull him out of the past TARDIS.

They didn't speak to one another as they walked back to the Ninth Doctor's TARDIS, not until the doors closed. The Doctor swallowed uncomfortably before clasping his hands in front of him and standing nervously by the jump-seat. Rose, who had been headed toward her room, turned back when he called her.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?"

"You're really okay with it?"

"With... With what?" She asked, brow furrowing in that adorable way it did when she was confused. He sighed softly, because reluctant as he was he had to admit that his sixth self had been correct when he'd said that he - or was it they - was/were smitten. Anything and everything Rose was doing lately was adorable to him.

"With Regeneration?" Her expression cleared.

"Oh. Well, yeah. It was kind of weird to start but I think it helped that we had to get to know each other since he'd never meant me before then."

"Huh." The Doctor considered that. "Never thought about it that way before, that that would be the reason that people have trouble with it. I'm still the same person and know them well, but they have to get used to me all over again and that doesn't go both ways. That is... that makes a lot of sense, actually." Rose shrugged.

"If you say so. 's one of those rare occasions where I genuinely think you're a nutter sometimes though. He swallowed as she flashed him a tongue-touched grin and rolled his eyes.

TWO WEEKS LATER...

Rose had been back with the Doctor for fourteen days and things had gotten... interesting. He kept glancing at her when he thought she wasn't looking, which wasn't anything new in and of itself, but it was the _way _he was looking at her. And, quite frankly, Rose had had enough. Jack, ever the faithful traitor that he was, had told her that the Doctor had sworn him to confidence saying he had recently remembered all that had happened between them as his past self as well as the conversation they'd had, and since Rose now knew how he felt because of that but had done nothing she was at her wit's end.

She found the Doctor underneath the console and, hooking her foot around his ankle, tugged hard. He was jerked out into the open to gape up at her from his position on the floor with wide eyes.

"Rose- what-"

She cut him off by dropping down into a crouch and snogging him senseless.

"Understood?" She rasped when she pulled away.

"Uh..." Oh, he looked glorious when incredibly dazed, Rose thought. He then smirked. "I might need you to send a memo."

"Yeah, that's gonna get you kissed again." He was about to reply when she snogged him again, and this time he snogged back.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to keep things short and sweet in this. Both Six and Peri or Nine and Rose had relationship issues they needed to tease out, and that came from the gift of hindsight and foresight. Hope you guys enjoyed the antics.
> 
> The Song for this story is “Two is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls (feat. T Swift):
> 
> https://youtu.be/4mE3ETiMXrE


End file.
